duplicate

[ noun adjective doo-pli-kit, dyoo-; verb doo-pli-keyt, dyoo- ]

noun

1. a copy exactly like an original.

   Synonyms: reproduction, replica, facsimile

   Antonyms: original

2. anything corresponding in all respects to something else.
3. Cards. a duplicate game.

verb (used with object)

, du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.

1. to make an exact copy of.
2. to do or perform again; repeat:

   He duplicated his father's way of standing with his hands in his pockets.

3. to double; make twofold.

verb (used without object)

, du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.

1. to become duplicate.

adjective

1. exactly like or corresponding to something else:

   duplicate copies of a letter.

2. consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.

   Synonyms: twofold

3. Cards. noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.

duplicate

/ ˈdjuːplɪkəbəl /

adjective

1. copied exactly from an original
2. identical
3. existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold

noun

1. an exact copy; double
2. something additional or supplementary of the same kind
3. two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate )

verb

1. tr to make a replica of
2. tr to do or make again
3. tr to make in a pair; make double
4. intr biology to reproduce by dividing into two identical parts

   the chromosomes duplicated in mitosis

Derived Forms

• ˈduplicately, adverb
• duplicable, adjective
• ˌduplicaˈbility, noun
• ˈduplicative, adjective

Other Words From

• du·pli·ca·tive adjective
• non·du·pli·cat·ing adjective
• pre·du·pli·cate verb (used with object) preduplicated preduplicating
• qua·si-du·pli·cate adjective
• self·-du·pli·cat·ing adjective
• un·du·pli·cat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of duplicate¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre “to make double”), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex ) duplex + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of duplicate¹

C15: from Latin duplicāre to double, from duo two + plicāre to fold

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in duplicate, in two copies, especially two identical copies:

   Please type the letter in duplicate.

Synonym Study

See imitate.

Example Sentences

That duplicate pipe San Diego wants to build, which would sit parallel to the one Met uses now, wouldn’t produce any savings for ratepayers until at least 2063 – costing two generations of ratepayers at least $5 billion to build.

From Voice of San Diego

Sometimes the duplicate copies persist for many millions of years before being lost, for reasons that Gramzow and Thießen are still investigating.

From Quanta Magazine

Reporters had to run the data through multiple computer programs to remove any duplicate records and standardize information that was frequently misspelled.

From ProPublica

In response, registrars need to search for duplicate entries that are usually mistakes – someone named Mike is registered in one county, moves and re-registers in another county as Michael, for example.

From Voice of San Diego

Shepard said, for example, “We know that we only want one title per page, that the title should be relatively short – 50 to 60 characters – the title should be unique, meaning it shouldn’t be a duplicate of other titles on your site.”

From Search Engine Land

He lost the bet on the twenty-eighth question, when a duplicate birthday turned up.

From The Daily Beast

Wayne has infused the whole operation with a spirit of joy and dedication that is stealth seasoning no one can duplicate.

From The Daily Beast

And it does seem true that Bitcoins are very hard to forge or duplicate.

From The Daily Beast

Son of God is trying to duplicate the grassroots strategy that paid off for Gibson.

From The Daily Beast

Illegible handwriting and typos lead to errors and duplicate entries.

From The Daily Beast

With this letter is another by the same writer, dated July 30, 1622—a postscript to a duplicate of the preceding letter.

From Project Gutenberg

Lessard uttered the command evenly, without a jarring note, his tone almost a duplicate of MacRae's.

From Project Gutenberg

The original documents (in duplicate) are drawn up in Spanish and in English respectively.

From Project Gutenberg

I shall need more energy than your body has available in order to duplicate myself.

From Project Gutenberg

The results with the gases duplicate in every particular the observations made on the solutions (see below, p. 24).

From Project Gutenberg